Interior Designs
by Jordanna Morgan
Summary: It wasn't their first argument, but it was the first one about something normal.


**Title:** Interior Designs  
**Author:** Jordanna Morgan  
**Archive Rights:** Please request the author's consent.  
**Rating/Warnings:** G.  
**Characters:** Kirito and Asuna.  
**Setting:** Just after Kirito and Asuna bought their house in Aincrad.  
**Summary:** It wasn't their first argument, but it was the first one about something normal.  
**Disclaimer:** They belong to Reki Kawahara. I'm just playing with them.  
**Notes:** Written as a Fandom Stocking gift for Amaresu. One of the expressed likes was curtainfic, so I thought it would be fun to delve a little deeper into the intricacies of creating a home in Aincrad. _*g*_

* * *

"What do you think of this one, Kirito?"

With a skeptical eye, Kirito rolled over on the bare wood floor, turning to face Asuna. They had just bought their beautiful new house by the lake, but it was as yet devoid of furnishings—which was the matter they had been working towards rectifying for the last hour.

Or, not so much.

Unwillingly, Kirito pried his eyes toward the menu his bride was scrolling through in their account. It was a seemingly endless selection of decorating schemes for the house. Sword Art Online may have had its drawbacks—those pesky little issues like the lack of a logout button, or the fact that in-game death meant dying _for real_—but it did at least offer some incredibly detailed customization options. Right down to the interior design of the spaces its players could call home.

Of course, the merging of accounts that came with marriage meant they could only choose _one_ design scheme… and if Asuna showed him one more layout that looked like a dollhouse, Kirito suspected he was going to bash his head against a wall. (Not that it would do him much good. Or even actually hurt, come to think of it.)

He had gone into this little online shopping spree with great optimism about their ability to compromise. After all, life in Aincrad wasn't exactly the same as in real life—and Asuna _definitely_ wasn't like other girls. She wasn't just his wife, but his _partner_, his comrade-in-arms. Although they had done their share of bickering before, she now made him feel she was in sync with his every thought, both in battle and in love.

…But after an hour of furniture shopping, he was certain he was getting a taste of what marriage actually felt like in the real world. And he might just possibly—for a second or two—have started to wonder what he'd been thinking.

"It's called _Country Elegance_," Asuna elaborated, as Kirito peered warily at the screen in front of her. "Isn't it gorgeous?"

Kirito took it all in for a few moments. A color scheme of blue-gray and white and sage green; wingback chairs, china cabinets, log-cabin quilts, pitchers stuffed with daffodils. And everywhere, on every tablecloth and sofa cushion… _lots_ of ruffles.

"It's, uh… kinda _fluffy_, isn't it?" he suggested hesitantly.

"Oh, come on, Kirito. Even _you_ can't think this one is too girly. It's _rustic_!"

"Uhmmm…"

He could tell by the way Asuna growled that she had reached the limits of her patience. Next thing he knew, her powerful grip (was it only that strong in the game, or in real life too?) was wrapped around his arm, and she was yanking him closer to the menu screen.

"_Fine_! If you're going to _hate_ everything I suggest, why don't _you_ look, and tell me what you _do_ like?"

Put on the spot, Kirito winced and whined. With great reluctance, he stretched out his hand, and began scrolling through design schemes—at a progressively quicker speed, as still more unappealing layouts continued to flash past his eyes.

Too antique. Too modernistic. Too crowded. Too bare. Too sunshiny. Too…

And then he saw one that was _perfect_.

"Well, I… kinda like this one…" he admitted cautiously, drawing back to give Asuna a better view.

Asuna leaned forward, her eyes widening as she studied the design scheme labeled _Viking Lodge_. A huge fire pit, carved-wood furnishings padded with furs, intricate and beautifully _sharp_ axes and swords hanging on every wall…

"_Kirito_! Our house is _not_ going to be just some kind of _man-cave_!"

* * *

In the end, they spent the entire first night of their honeymoon "negotiating" the design scheme of the house—much to Kirito's dismay. It was certainly not their first argument; but then again, it _was_ their first argument about something completely _normal_.

Which was sort of a milestone in itself.

* * *

_© 2014 Jordanna Morgan_


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